I am Bob - and I am a Hallowed Gadfly

The world is filled with two kinds of people:

those who like to categorize
and those who do not

We all know the type: the person love goes ga-ga for Myers-Briggs or groks on GOOD TO GREAT or has attended some training or retreat that provides them access to some magical set of TLAs (three letter acronyms). Ontology, which so often is meant to add new meaning, too often is wielded like a hatchet to separate complex organisms into "Little Boxes", like in the song by Malvina Reynolds

I just finished The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, which is fascinating for a word geek like me. It seems that one of the core stories of the English language is that every new trend brings with it buzzwords ready made to categorize. Take social media - this is a clever and seemingly universal set of stereotypes:

The 14 Peculiar Social Media Users

On two occasions, people have looked me in the eye and categorized me as a gadfly. Gadflies are people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions. Most of the time, gadflies are an irritant, much like the mythical insect they are named after.

In settings that place a premium on change, gadfly is used to describe someone who persistently challenges people in positions of power, the status quo or a popular position.

These two people who categorized me as a gadfly could not be more different - one a Prince of the institutional church, almost 70 years old; the other a model for the Jesus follower of the future, recognized by many for his genius with people that the church routinely does not welcome. What they have in common is (a) they are 2 of the most powerful men in churchianity I know personally and (b) they took the time and effort to call me a gadfly. When both of them said this term, in very different settings, it was meant as a slur, a term of disparagement - and trust me, it hurt.

This simple word left me feeling like a victim, something that I normally do not feel like. I have done enough work - both soul work and psyche work - to know that no person can make another person a victim. What intrigues me is that word victim. In Old High German, it seems victim was the word wih, which ultimately became the word weoh - what we nowadays know as "hallow". Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.

There is a funny thing about this slur - inside many institutions, it is a term to shut down new ideas, criticism or even challenges to power or sacred cow. Outside some of the most fallow institutions, these very characteristics are not a negative category or a way to stifle new life - they are, in fact, the core ethos the organizations strives to achieve. As is so often the case, a word meant to demean is actually a word of holiness, redeemed as part of our essence as beloved creatures made in God's image.

It is odd for me to take pride in this slur, to admit that I am often a gadfly, that I actually work at some of these aspects of my personality. I've learned to understand the swatting, to be tuned into how irrating I can be. But I have also learned that this category does not shut me down - it is a buzzing, living part of who I am and how I move around.

I am Bob - and I am a Hallowed Gadfly.

Comments

good for you gadfly brother.
the world needs an irritant now and then, in fact, often.
plus, you aren't irritating (at least to me.)
from what i can see, you irritate the system with your thoughtful questioning.
rock on with your social commentating... ily.

Posted by: your sister | Monday, November 10, 2008 at 04:02 PM

I remember the gadflies (horseflies) growing up in rural NC. The bite stung but the incessant buzzing warned us early enough to get in an effective swat first. That is what happens to gadflies, right? I'm recalling Socrates – the prototypical, self-professed gadfly. Gadflies are not known for their lifespan; they are pretty much victims as a species.

Now, with our modern sensibilities, we screen the porch, close the windows tight and have our garbage picked-up every Friday so as to keep such pesky insects at bay. I don't even have to swat anymore. I suppose the analogy is that we can keep church also pleasantly isolated from gadflies. I guess that's one of the risks of leaving of our environmentally-sealed buildings and wandering too far outside where the garbage and manure isn't all cleaned up. I might bump into a swarm of those hallowed gadflies, or worse, become one myself.

-keith

Posted by: Keith F. | Monday, November 10, 2008 at 02:24 PM